A defendant who has been served with a summons and then fails to appear may be charged with the offense of failure to appear.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Only if bail is posted
• D. Only if a warrant has been issued

Answer: (B)

Failure to appear is charged when a person who has been ordered to appear in court does not show up. A summons is only a notice to appear, not a binding arrest order in itself. The offense of failure to appear typically applies after there has been a formal court order to appear that the person has knowingly ignored, often in the context of release on bail or after an arrest with a warrant. Because a summons alone does not automatically create the legal consequence of failing to appear, the statement is not correct. In many cases, if someone misses a court date after a summons, authorities may pursue compliance or a different charge (such as contempt) or wait for a warrant to be issued before taking further action.